429 Rate Limit - How long until reset? (Eikon Data API)

peter.jackson

I'm using the Eikon Data API (Python eikon library) via the desktop proxy. During development, I accidentally sent a burst of ~400 get_news_story() calls without proper rate limiting, which triggered a 429 "Too many requests" error.

The 429 now blocks all API calls, including simple ones like ek.get_data("ZAR=", ["CF_LAST"]). I've since added 0.25s stagger between calls and an 80-article cap per batch to prevent this from happening again.

Questions:

1. How long does the 429 lockout last? Does it reset at midnight GMT?
2. Is there a way to get the throttle manually reset on my account?
3. The current lockout appears to last up to 24 hours for what was essentially a development mistake — this seems disproportionate compared to standard API rate limiting (most APIs reset within minutes or at most an hour). Could the throttle on my account be manually lifted, or is there a way to reduce the cooldown period?
4. Does the 429 response include a Retry-After header? I only see the generic "Too many requests, please try again later" message with no timing info.

Environment:

• Eikon Data API (Python eikon library)
• Refinitiv Workspace desktop (port 9000 proxy)
• Windows 11

Thanks in advance.

Jirapongse

@peter.jackson

Thank you for reaching out to us.

The Eikon Data API is now a feature‑complete product, and we no longer provide updates for it. Please upgrade your application to use the LSEG Data Library for Python instead. For more details, refer to the Essential Guide to the Data Libraries – Generations of Python libraries (EDAPI, RDP, RD, LD) article.

1. How long does the 429 lockout last? Does it reset at midnight GMT?
   
   As far as I know, the reset time is supposed to happen at midnight local time. However, you need to contact the helpdesk team via LSEG Support to confirm this.
   
2. Is there a way to get the throttle manually reset on my account?
3. The current lockout appears to last up to 24 hours for what was essentially a development mistake — this seems disproportionate compared to standard API rate limiting (most APIs reset within minutes or at most an hour). Could the throttle on my account be manually lifted, or is there a way to reduce the cooldown period?
   
   Typically, the limit can't be manually reset. The limit is controlled by the backend services. Please contact the product support team directly via LSEG Support to check this.
   
4. Does the 429 response include a Retry-After header? I only see the generic "Too many requests, please try again later" message with no timing info.
   
   I’m unable to see the full message for this issue. I don’t believe it includes timing information in its headers. In addition, the Eikon Data API does not provide access to the headers of the retrieved response.

For now, it is better to use the new LSEG Data Library for Python instead of Eikon Data API.